Hemp Interim Rule

Hemp Interim Rule

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett

USDA's Interim Hemp Production Program Final Rule has been published and is underway, but Hemp producers in Colorado and elsewhere still have time to give their input.

Secretary of Ag Sonny Perdue said in a statement the USDA still wants to hear from growers to make sure the regulations meet their needs.

And Undersecretary Greg Ibach says the next two years will largely decide the national hemp program.

Ibach: “We will use the 2020 growing season as a chance to test drive the new interim rule to guide any adjustments that are made in the final rule”

The deadline to submit comments on the interim rule is January 29th.

Undersecretary Bill Northey says the interim rule will be used to decide eligibility for a number of federal programs.

Northey:“Including loans, crop insurance, disaster assistance and conservation programs.”

He says many growers in states with approved Hemp Plans will also be able to Non insured crop disaster assistance through the Farm Service Agency. That will be available in areas where crop insurance is not available.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture is submitting a new hemp plan to the USDA. The state is ahead of most others and the ag department had already implemented its own plan long before hemp was legalized in the last Farm Bill.

Colorado accounts for about a third of the country’s hemp production. About 31,000 acres of hemp and another 110 acres in greenhouses are registered with the state, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

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